 |
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
Past and present Hungary looking to move on from 'Magical Magyars'Posted: Tuesday December 03, 2002 9:47 AMBUDAPEST (Reuters) -- Hungarian soccer, 100 years old last year, has come a long way in the past four decades -- sadly in the wrong direction. In world governing body FIFA's November rankings, Hungary was behind Zimbabwe and Ghana, though a five-match unbeaten run, including last week's 1-1 friendly draw with Moldova, will have improved that since. But all this is a far cry from the heady days of the "Magical Magyars" of the 1950s, when Hungary lost just a single match -- the 1954 World Cup final -- in six years. That dream team, built around legendary figures like Ferenc Puskas, Nandor Hidegkuti, Gyula Grosics, Jeno Buzansky and Sandor Kocsis -- swept all before it until the squad was broken up by Hungary's popular anti-communist uprising in 1956. Olympic winners in 1952, the "Golden Squad" arguably changed soccer's world order in November 1953, when Hungary famously beat England 6-3, the first overseas side to beat England at home. The following year, they trounced England 7-1 in Budapest, confirming Hungary as the favorite to lift the World Cup. Hungary, beaten finalist in 1938, opened its 1954 group with a crushing 9-0 victory over South Korea, followed by an 8-3 thumping of West Germany, marred only by an injury to talismanic striker Puskas. After a bruising quarterfinal win against Brazil, Hungary inflicted Uruguay's first ever World Cup defeat before meeting the Germans, again, in the final. A half-fit Puskas returned, scored and inspired his team to a 2-0 lead before the Germans fought back to win 3-2. The 1956 uprising decimated the national side, with Puskas, Kocsis and others seeking exile in Spain. But, within six years, a talented new side had emerged, with the likes of striker Florian Albert and Ferenc Bene taking Hungary to the quarterfinals of both the 1962 and 1966 World Cup finals. Despite winning Olympic gold again in 1964 and 1968, and silver in 1972, Hungary failed to qualify for the 1970 World Cup finals and, bar fourth place in the 1972 European championships, has been in sad decline ever since. Signs of promise -- winning the 1974 European Under-23 championships and the 1984 European Under-18 title -- counted for little at the major tournaments. Qualification for the 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cup finals was short-lived as Hungary exited each at the group stage, though it set a new goal-scoring record with a 10-1 win over El Salvador in 1982. At club level, too, success has been limited. Ferencvaros, Hungary's best known club ahead of MTK, Kispest-Honved and Ujpest, won the 1965 UEFA Cup, but that's where the honor roll ends. Corruption and underfunding have held back the game's development in the last 20 years, though a grassroots development programme, named after Jozsef Bozsik who played 101 times for Hungary, may yet yield dividends in the next generation. Hungary pins Euro 2008 bid on location and traditionBUDAPEST (Reuters) -- There's a lot going on in Hungary at present. The small, landlocked central European state joined NATO three years ago and is on the way to European Union membership in 2004, cementing its brief journey from totalitariansim to democracy and free markets. While the nation moves forward -- a stable politicial landscape, strong currency and vibrant economy -- Hungary's legions of diehard soccer fans have to live on fading memories of bygone glory. The last four decades have been dismal by any standard, but coming after the "Golden Era" of the 1950s, they seem doubly disappointing. Now, Hungary's 101-year-old Football Association wants to put the country back on the soccer map with a bold bid to host the 2008 European Championships. "The inventory of the most glorious events of our history befittingly comprises the greatest triumph of our national team, beating England 6-3 at Wembley in 1953," Hungary's President Ferenc Madl said recently. "With this victory, Hungary's footballers signed their names in golden letters in the annals of football history, not only of their own country, but of the world." "Now the time has come for us to show that our country can not only be a participant, but also host the celebration of football in Europe," Madl said. His center-left government is on board, pledging to back the bid to the tune of over two billion euros (US$1.98 billion), two thirds of the likely cost of staging the world's third biggest sporting event -- after the Olympics and soccer World Cup. Location is key If its bid succeeds -- it is one of only two solo bids among a total of seven -- Hungary will embark on an orgy of stadium construction and renovation. Five new stadiums would be built -- in Debrecen, Kaposvar, Miskolc, Szeged and in the capital Budapest, where the old Nepstadion, renamed after soccer legend and national icon Ferenc Puskas, would be turned into a modern 60,000-seat arena. Three existing grounds -- in Budapest, Szekesfehervar and Gyor -- would have a complete makeover to bring them into line with tough UEFA safety regulations. All the work would be due to be finished by late 2006. Hungary has already begun a long-term stadium rebuilding programme, improving up to 40 current grounds at a cost of 21 billion forints (US$88.41 million). Berzi acknowledged Hungary had no long-term need for all the seats that would be built for Euro 2008 and planned to dismantle parts of some new venues after the tournament to make way for shops, restaurants and conference centers. Hungary's FA is playing on the nation's great footballing traditions -- Puskas remains a star attraction despite his poor health -- and also trumpets the advantages of location. The longest distance between any two match venues is 430km (267.2 miles), and all can be reached quickly from the capital. Much of the state funding would go towards making it easier for an estimated 400,000 fans and media to get around -- upgraded roads and railways, new metro lines in Budapest, rail-air links and modern hotels. Football Federation Secretary General Sandor Berzi believes Hungary's location, bordered by seven countries, makes it ideal for a month-long event where many fans travel to matches and then go home again straight away, reducing some of the inevitable security headache. "If we have a good ticketing system, there is an almost 100 percent chance Hungary can avoid the hooligans." Going solo Berzi also believes a one-nation bid "has more advantages than disadvantages," cutting out coordination and logistics issues seen at Euro 2000, co-hosted by the Belgians and Dutch, and at this year's World Cup in Japan and South Korea. "To make a European championship with another country... there are a lot of big problems with language, borders, different taxes and policing systems," he told Reuters recently. Even on the pitch, Hungary's prospects may be looking up. It is 30 years since Hungary last qualified for the final stages of Europe's biggest competition, but after two qualifying games for the 2004 finals in Portugal, it tops Group Four and is unbeaten in five matches. While the national team is a far cry from the 1950s heyday of the "Magical Magyars" when Puskas, Nandor Hidegkuti and Florian Albert ruled supreme, coach Imre Gellei looks to have brought stability. "There was a time when the whole world used to adore our national team... now we are working with the aim of gradually getting up to a level by 2008 where we will again be taken seriously," Gellei said recently. Factbox: VENUES: The following eight venues are planned:
COST: Hungary has budgeted around three billion euros to stage the event, including around 2.0 billion euros from the state to help infrastructure projects like transport, hotels and stadiums. Having seen past championships, Hungary thinks it could reap around 500 million euros profit from Euro 2008. FOOTBALL SET-UP: The first official league started in 1901, with the founding of the Hungarian Football Association (MLSZ). The leading clubs are all based in the capital Budapest, and include Ferencvaros, Ujpest, MTK and Kispest-Honved, the former army team that starred Ferenc Puskas. Ferencvaros, the 27-time champion, is arguably the most popular team in the country. Two years after "Fradi" won the Fairs Cup in 1965, striker Florian Albert was awarded the European Golden Ball. FOOTBALL HONORS: World Cup runner-up in 1938 and 1954, quarterfinals in 1962 and 1966; Olympic champion in 1964 and 1968; Best finish in the European Championship was fourth in 1972; European Under-23 champion in 1974; European Under-18 champion in 1984. CLUBS: Hungary has 32 professional clubs and 109,445 registered players at all levels. The first division has 12 teams, with 20 in the second division. PREVIOUS HISTORY: In the last 10 years, Hungary claims it hosted the most European and World championship sports events, including the World Gymnastics Championships in Debrecen in November 2002, the 1998 European Athletics Championships; the 1997 European Womens Basketball Championships and, in 1996, it co-hosted with Austria the Womens Handball World Cup. POLITICAL SITUATION: Hungary joined NATO in 1999 and is almost certain to enter the European Union in 2004, crowning its brief transition from totalitarianism to democracy and free markets. The current center-left government came to power in April elections, winning a slender majority over the conservatives. The Socialist-liberal Free Democrat cabinet appears to have dropped the idea of bidding for the 2012 Olympics, but is keen to win the race to host Euro2008, the third government to wholeheartedly back the nation's bid. Hungary bid jointly with neighbor Austria for the 2004 tournament, losing out to Portugal. For Euro 2008, it briefly considered a joint bid with Croatia, but opted to go it alone.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
